Parramatta church was overflowing as hundreds of family, friends, colleagues and church members from around Australia were there to support Johnny Murison, as he was ordained into pastoral ministry.
Steve Piez, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Ministries (ATSIM) Director, indicated that Pr Johnny Murison was the seventh Aboriginal person to be ordained into pastoral ministry in Australia.
In his welcome, Pr Gilbert Cangy, senior pastor at Parramatta, said, "There is a difference between a minister doing his job well and having an anointing from God. We’re here to testify that insasmuch as the church gathers in affirmation of his calling today, the fruits of Johnny’s anointing have already been evident, not only in our midst at Parramatta, but wherever he’s had the opportunity to minister."
Johnny Murison was born in Blairgowie, Scotland, to a Scottish father and Aboriginal mother but spent most of his youth in Townsville, Queensland. After finishing school, he followed in his father’s footsteps, working as a carpenter until he accepted his Heavenly Father’s call to ministry. "Before I tell you why I became a minister," said Pr Murison, "I want to tell you that I became a minister the day I gave my heart to Jesus. God not only called me to minister to Indigenous people, but to everyone."
In 1997 he attended Mamarapha, the ATSIM Bible college in Western Australia. During his studies he felt God preparing him for something special: "I understood my purpose, it gave me courage and conviction," said Pr Murison. In 2000 he started a Bachelor of Arts in Theology at Avondale College wanting to do further study and sharpen his ministry skills.
Pr Murison’s aunty, Judy Enoch, spoke of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and its impact on the Murison family many years ago on Monamona Mission, near Kuranda, Qld. Pr Murison thanked his family for never giving up on their faith and for preserving their Adventist heritage for him.
He joined the Greater Sydney Conference in January 2005 and was appointed to serve as an intern at Mt Druitt church. Pr Murison currently serves as associate pastor at Parramatta church, pastor of The Way Redfern Seventh-day Adventist Community Church, ATSIM Director for Greater Sydney Conference, and a member of the ATSIM Advisory.
"I stand here as someone who knows God and someone who is known by God," said Pr Murison. "I am a product of grace. I am what I am because of grace and mercy. I am what I am because I responded to a man who said, Come to me and I will give you life.
Pablo Lillo/RECORD